Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez asked Ecuador to join an energy initiative called Petroamérica, but the government of President Alfredo Palacio declined the request, the Ecuadorian Government's Spokesman Enrique Proaño told Venezuelan state-run TV channel Venezolana de Televisión.

The Venezuelan ruler "asked us to consider the possibility of entering into an agreement whereby Ecuador would join Petroamérica. On this matter, we said, 'no, Mr. President, we want this cooperation in the oil area and will not go beyond,'" Proaño declared.

Proaño informed that Chávez is visiting Ecuador Tuesday for six or seven hours to execute two cooperation agreements -one in the energy area and another to process Ecuadorian oil in Venezuelan refineries.

He said the Venezuelan aid "does means neither alignment with Mr. Chávez nor getting farther from the United States."

Proaño clarified: "We neither have to ask permission from the United States nor refrain from welcoming a person who comes from a government of the Andean region." He stressed that Palacio's foreign policy not only focuses on boosting Andean integration but also South American integration.

President Chávez' arrival in Ecuador is deemed "another visit by a Head of State, regardless of political implications."

In this way, Ecuador clarified that President Chávez' scheduled visit does not involve alignment with any regional bloc or a separation from Washington.

Chávez is arriving in Ecuador at a time when Quito and Washington are at odds over the termination of US firm Oxy oil exploitation agreement in Ecuador, Efe reported.

Ecuador made the move to render such agreement null last month, which further dampened bilateral relations. US-Ecuador were already facing tensions, as Quito passed a reform to the Hydrocarbons Law intended to increase charges on transnational oil firms' excess oil revenues in Ecuador.

Both moves lead a Free Trade Agreement the US and Ecuador are negotiating since 2004 to a gridlock. Local businesspeople fear this may result in an early termination of preferential tariffs, scheduled to end in December.

Analysts in Ecuador believe Chávez could seize this opportunity to expand both his "Bolivarian" ideology and his opposition to Washington.

Senior Ecuador Government officials have tried to appease such fears, by ensuring that Chávez' visit is to focus on energy cooperation matters exclusively.

Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs minister Francisco Carrión denied claims that Chávez' presence in Ecuador is intended to build a Caracas-La Paz-Quito "axis." Carrión reassured that his country is only defending its own interests.

Ecuador this year has plans to earmark some USD 2.5 billion to purchase oil by-products in world markets, as its three refineries do not meet local demand. Official figures such as refining costs and the amount of Ecuadorian crude oil to be refined in Venezuela have not been disclosed yet.